Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner with all the Trimmings ~ 2013.   I decided to keep it simple this year, really simple.  How simple?  Well, over the years, I've become a big fan of the 'pre-cooked' holiday boxed 'complete dinners', the kind that all the supermarkets offer.  So, that is what we had...I have been seduced by the convenience of it all.  :)

I know that many people turn up their noses at the thought of serving 'that kind' of meal for their family holiday dinner, but for us, it just makes sense.  For a big family gathering, with lots of help in the kitchen, I'd be up for doing it from scratch...but, we don't have a family like that.  Here, it's just the three of us, and sometimes we have a few friends who join us.  To be honest, I just don't want to spend all day in the kitchen cooking for just a few of us and then all night washing up.  That's not my idea of a holiday.  So now, I just doctor up the box and we're good to go.

The hardest part of making this meal is deciding what time we want to eat and then making a timetable of when the side dishes need to go into the oven so everything comes out at the right time.  I must admit, I do like to doctor up the side dishes a bit ~ just to give them a little 'homey' touch.

Tonight, to go along with the meal, I made a homemade Waldorf Salad with Cranberries & Cinnamon and a quick side of canned candied yams with brown sugar & marshmallows.  I made sure to present all the side dishes nicely, and I got compliments all around.  No muss, No fuss!

    

We ended the night with a delicious selection of desserts and a game of Trouble.  A nice end to a nice day.  Hope you all had a wonderful & Happy Thanksgiving!

Lentil Rogan Josh ~ Meatless Monday

A while back, I came across a vegetarian curry recipe spin in one of my Penzey's Spice catalogs.  Since it replaces meat with lentils, I thought it would be a perfect fit for Meatless Monday.  I followed this recipe for ~ Lentil Rogan Josh ~ that was shared by one of their customers.  I served it over a bed of brown rice, topped with a big dollop of fat free Greek yogurt and a sprinkling of dried cilantro.  I enjoyed my meal...but, my boys, not so much.  They didn't care for the ginger flavor, (they can be a bit picky when it comes to ginger cooked into a dish).  Fine by me, just means I don't have to share any of the leftovers!  So, if you're looking for a simple way to serve the superfood lentils, that has a nice Indian flair, this might be your dish.  Happy Meatless Monday!

Vegetarian Dishes perfect for your Thanksgiving Table ~ Meatless Monday

Since Thanksgiving is almost here, I thought I'd go back and look at some of the veggie dishes I've shared on the blog that would fit right in on your Thanksgiving table...

Stuffed Acorn Squash ~  Vegetarian Thanksgiving-style stuffing, stuffed into an acorn squash half, and then baked.  Perfect set-up for single servings.  Yes, please!

BBQ Lentil Stuffed Sweet Potato ~ Instead of BBQ sauce, cover your lentils with a vegetarian 'mock turkey' gravy recipe for a Thanksgiving table dinner-worthy spin.

Low Fat Roasted Butternut Squash Soup ~ Just replace the recipe's chicken broth with a veggie broth instead, and you've got a super easy and tasty soup that vegetarians and meat eaters alike will enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving ~ Veggie Style!

Homemade Peanut Butter

For the last two weeks, I've been working on 'cleaning out' my pantry.  I tend to keep it well stocked, but that sometimes leads to food items that hang around past their prime.  (sometimes you can't see the cans through, well, the cans :)   So, I've been having an interesting time trying to use up all the items and have been getting creative with our meals and side dishes ~ to put it kindly.  Today I found a couple of bags of dry roasted peanuts, stashed waaaaay in the back, and they called out to me.  Since I was almost out of peanut butter, I decided I might as well try making my own.  

I found this Homemade Peanut Butter recipe, over at the Food Network site, and gave it a try.  Other than shelling the peanuts (what a boring and messy chore), it was simple to make and tasty to eat.  If you ever find yourself with some extra peanuts hanging around, this might be the recipe for you.  It's a kid friendly recipe, too bad J was in school when I made it.  I must say, it's really nice to know exactly what's in your peanut butter and depending on how long you blend it, you can make it as creamy or chunky as you like.   Not to mention, this homemade version has nothing in it that I can't pronounce.  Only ~  peanuts, honey, salt and oil.  Real time cooking in my kitchen today.  :)

Cranberry-Orange Oat Bran Muffins ~ Meatless Monday

I found some frozen cranberries hiding in my freezer the other day, so I decided to use them in a batch of oat  bran muffins.  I tweaked this recipe just a bit. (I've posted about this basic recipe before, click to see that blog post)  For my version I  ~~  omitted the dates and nuts, replacing them with a cup of finely chopped cranberries.  I also replaced 1/2 cup of the milk with 1/2 cup of thawed orange juice concentrate.   The resulting muffin had a nice flavor and was a fine addition to my collection of oat bran muffins.  If you're looking for a way to use some fresh cranberries, why not add them to your muffins?  Ruby red cranberries sure jazzed up my morning muffins.  :)   Happy Meatless Monday!

Summer-Day Pasta ~ A Snob In The Kitchen

Back-Story on this adapted recipe 

I recently started another food blog ~ Cooking with A Snob In The Kitchen.  This new specialty blog is just going to be for the recipes that I make from the little known, 1967 cookbook, A Snob In The Kitchen.  It's a charming vintage cookbook written by the iconic Italian fashion designer, Simonetta.  Her life story is quite amazing and worth getting to know about.

Since her cookbook is about as scarce as hen's teeth to get a hold of, I thought I'd corral all of the posts I do on her recipes in one place.  (just in case someone wants to search for her cookbook recipes & because I thought it would be fun) I'll also share my adapted versions of Simonetta's recipes on WWIE.  I invite you to link on over to my new blog ~ Cooking with A Snob In The Kitchen to see how I became infatuated with Simonetta, and also to find some additional links to some interesting articles about her life.  Hope you enjoy these vintage recipes as much as I know I'll have cooking and eating them!

Summer-Day Pasta 
serves 2-3
adapted from the ~ A Snob In The Kitchen recipe ~ Summer-Day Spaghetti & the 1967 newspaper article on the NYC cookbook launch at Bergdorf Goodman
 
Ingredients

• 1/2 Tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• 1/2 Tbsp butter
• 6 anchovies fillets
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• ** (keep the used, juiced lemon half for adding to the pasta cooking water)
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 6 Tbsp fat free evaporated milk
• 8 oz of dry pasta (I used a spinach & chive linguine from Trader Joe's)
• salt/pepper ~ to taste
• *Optional goodies*
• 1 Tbsp EVOO for dressing the pasta before serving
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• crushed red pepper flakes
• extra parsley for garnish 

Directions
Place olive oil, butter and anchovies in pan, cook over medium heat.  Mash anchovies with the back of a spoon until they break apart.  When hot, add the chopped onions, cook until they are soft and starting to become translucent.  Add the lemon juice and parsley, stir and continue to cook over a low heat for 5 minutes.  Stir in the evaporated milk, do not let it boil.  (when ready to toss the onion/anchovy mixture with the cooked pasta, add a little extra evaporated milk if it needs a little thinning out)

Cook the pasta according to package directions in a large pot, adding the reserved used lemon half to the boiling water.  When the pasta is al dente, drain, return to the pot, & toss with a little EVOO (if using).  Toss the onion/anchovy mixture with the pasta, add salt/pepper to taste.  Garnish with the Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and parsley.  Enjoy!

Quinoa Tuna Salad

Quinoa and Tuna? Together, like as in tuna salad?  You betcha!!!  One day I added a a cup of cooked quinoa to a cup of canned tuna.  Why?  Because I had some cooked quinoa in the fridge and not enough tuna to go around for lunch.  They are the perfect match!  Not only have we had it in a traditional sandwich, we've also eaten it on crackers; stuffed in a pita; and as part of a green salad.  Just make your tuna salad like you normally do and then throw in the cooked quinoa.  Such an easy and tasty way to get a superfood on your plate.  Give it a try, I think you'll love it, too!

 

Coconut Fakin' "Bacon" ~ Meatless Monday

I recently read a blog post about making coconut "bacon", over on the blog ~ Hungry Hungry Hippie.  I was instantly intrigued and went right out to get some coconut flakes.  I made a batch and was happy with the results.  The coconut "bacon" had a flavor that really did have a similar taste to crispy bacon.  It worked great sprinkled over salad, added to a sandwich and eaten right out of hand.  You get a bit of coconut flavor, but only if you really try to 'taste' it.  

Next time I make it I'll increase the amount of seasoning, that way it will have a bigger 'bacon' taste.  I think I'll also add some McCormick's Smokehouse Maple seasoning to the mix, for an extra layer of 'smoky' flavor.  The coconut flakes go from pale-to-dark pretty quick, so keep a close eye on it while it's in the oven.  Thinking outside traditional bacon usage, this might be a fun twist for topping a chocolate cupcake.  Chocolate and Coconut Fakin' Bacon together? ~ YUM!  What do you think?  :)   Happy Meatless Monday!

Sarah's Almond Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Sarah, a reader of the blog, sent me her breakfast cookie recipe.  It's a spin of my ~ Peanut Butter Banana Oat Breakfast Cookies.  I made her version and we all really liked them!!!  Sarah's recipe includes avocado, which might sound strange, but it works, adding a subtle richness to her cookies.  I added some carob chips and raisins to her recipe, just because we really like them.  :)   We all loved the soft texture of the cookies and gave them a big thumbs up!  I'm calling them ~ Sarah's Almond Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies.

Here's the original comment Sarah left me ~  I LOVE your blog and all the awesome recipes, here is my spin on the oatmeal cookies as made for my 9 month old son to eat for breakfast...though hubs and I did love them too!  Followed directions as per peanut butter protein cookies. The almond butter gives them a really nice consistency and has a mild flavor compared to peanut butter.  Thanks!  ~ Sarah, it was so kind of you to share your recipe.  You ROCK!

Sarah's Almond Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
makes 16-20 depending on size

Ingredients

• 2 bananas, mashed until creamy
• 1/3 ripe avocado, mashed until creamy
• 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup almond butter (or nut butter of choice)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 1/2 cups quick oats, uncooked (or use old fashioned oats for more oatmeal texture)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup mix of chocolate/carob chips and/or raisins (optional)

Directions

Preheat heat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, thoroughly combine mashed banana, mashed avocado, almond butter,  applesauce & vanilla extract.   Add in the oatmeal & cinnamon (and chips/raisins if using) and stir together. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.  Drop cookie dough, by spoonfuls, onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet & flatten cookies into circles.  Bake cookies approx. 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven & let rest on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move to cooling rack.  When cookies are completely cool, store in a covered container.  They will last longer if kept in the fridge.  Enjoy!

 

 

37 Calorie Brownie

I saw a post on Facebook the other day that really got my attention.  It showed a glorious photo of low calorie,  decadent looking brownies.   Oooooo, both Roy & I were instantly smitten!  I made them today and thought I'd share how they turned out.  Sorry to say, this challenged baker couldn't make it work ~ it was a bust.  Even with doctoring them up after they came out of the oven, neither Roy nor I would eat them.  I read through the comments of the post, and it appears quite a few people had the same problem I did.  The brownies did not rise at all, and they were on the bitter side.  On the flip side, other readers just loved them.  I don't know what went wrong.  It was such a shame, I had such high hopes.   I had all the ingredients called for, so I didn't have to make a special trip to the market to make them, but it's still sad to have to throw them out ~ I just hate wasting food.  If anyone who reads this has made them & had success, please share your secret to getting it to work.  For now, I think I'll just stick to my Trader Joe's low cal brownie mix.  You win some.  You lose some.  Real-time baking in my kitchen today.  :)